Bag closure



June 21, 1966 s J, RNMA BAG CLOSURE Filed Sept. 25, 1964 INVENTOR5mm/sl. J. RIVM/,u1

BY m l eig/64,44

ATTORNEYS AUnited States Patent O 3,256,941 BAG CLOSURE Samuel J. Rvman,White Plains, N.Y., assignor to Gulf Oil Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Filed Sept. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 398,666 1Claim. (Cl. 229-62) The present invention relates to plastic containers;more particularly, this invention relates to sealed plastic bags whichare easily opened and easily sealed shut again.

Plastic bags, particularly bags made of polyethylene, have come intogreat popularity for packaging various materials and articles. Forexample, clothing or similar articles often are packed in heat-sealedpolyethylene bags. Often a prospective purchaser desires to open the bagto inspect its contents. Because the bag is heat-sealed, it must be cutor torn open to permit this inspection. the customer decides not to buythe article, it will be diflicultto sell because its protective bag hasbeen destroyed. This is true even if the torn bag is laboriously sealedshut again by conventional methods.

' Often, several perishable articles such as fruits and vegetables arepacked in one plastic bag. As pointed out above, once the bag is torn orcut open, it cannot be reclosed easily. Therefore, any articlesremaining in the bag after it is opened are unprotected fromcontamination and -easily could fall out. If the bag were easily openedwithout cutting or tearing, and were easily resealable, it would beconvenient for the user to take a few items out of the bag, and thenreseal the bag, thus maintaining the protection of the remaining items.

Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a plasticbag which is easily opened without cutting or tearing it, and which iseasily closed and resealed without the use of special additionalequipment or materials.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide simple,sturdy, long-lasting reclosable plastic bags which are inexpensive tomanufacture.

The drawings and description that follow describe the invention andindicate some of the ways in which it can be used. In addition, some ofthe advantages provided by the invention will be pointed out.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the components of a plastic bag of thepresent invention prior to assembly of the bag;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective View of a plastic bag assembled from thecomponents shown in FIGURE 1, the bag being open;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective View of the bag shown in FIGURE 1, the bagbeing lled and sealed shut;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 ofFIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along `line 5-5 ofFIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective, broken-away view of another plastic bag ofthe present invention, the bag being open.

`A polyethylene plastic bag 10 is shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawings. Thebag 10 is formed from a sheet 12 of thin polyethylene lm which is foldedupon itself along a bottom fold line 14. The folded-together edges ofthe sheet 12 are heat-sealed together at 16 and 18.

A portion of sheet 12 extends beyond the other por- ICC it is to beunderstood that holes of any shape may be utilized in accordance withthe present invention.

A strip 24 of polyethylene which has a pressure-sensitive adhesivecoating 26 on one surface (see FIGURE 4) is applied to the rear surfaceof flap 20 as shown in FIG- URES 2 through 5. The adhesive coating 26binds the strip 24 to the flap 20. It should be understood that thepolyethylene 12 is very thin (e.g., 1 or 2 mils thick), and that theVthickness of all the materials is exaggerated in the drawings for thesake of clarity. The strip 24 advantageously can be made of paper,aluminum foil, or other similar materials and can be made thicker thanthe bag iilm for added strength. It is especially advantageously made ofpolyethylene thicker lthan the material 12 so as to simplify theprocessof making the bags.

To close the open top of the bag 10, the flap 20 with the attachedadhesive strip 24 is folded along line 28 (see FIGURES 3 and 5) and ispressed against the front wall of the bag 10. The thin film 12 thus ispressed into the holes 22 and against the adhesive surface 26 in theholes as is shown in FIGURE 5. The adhesive connection between theistrip24 and the front bag wall is strong enough to hold the bag 10 closeddespite considerable stress from the bulging contents of the bag.

To reopen the bag, the flap `20 and strip 24 are grasped with thefingers along the lower or outermost edge 30 of those members and arepulled loose from the front Wall of the bag. The holes 22 are locatedsuch that a small strip of plastic remains between each hole and theedge 30, thus providing a convenient finger-grip strip. Because strip 24is pulled into holes 22 by the adhesive, the fingergrip strip tends tobend slightly outward'as shown in FIGURE 5, thus making it easy togrip.

Advantageously, the pressure-sensitive adhesive 26 is non-setting andtacky, and has good adhesive strength. However, it is preferably notaggressively adhesive `since too much adhesion may result in a tearingof the polyethylene when the ap is removed from contact with the wall12. An adhesive which has been found to have the above desirableproperties and is particularly suitable for use in bags of thisinvention is the pressure-sensitive adhesive designated #539-16-1 andfsold by F. P. Bartlett & Co. However, similar adhesives are readilyavailable and are widely used, for example, in `sealing the ends ofbread wrappers. Since such adhesives have a relatively long life, thebag 10 may be opened and closed many times.

The bag 32 shown in FIGURE 6 is like the bag shown in FIGURES 1 through5 except thatino strip 24 is used. Instead, the flap 20 is made longer,the adhesive 26 is coated upon a portion of flap 20 located inwardlyfrom holes 22, and the outer portion of ilap 20 is folded over alongline 34 so that the portion of ap 20 with holes V22 in it overlies andadheres to adhesive 26. To close bag 32, .the ilap 20 is folded overupon and pressed against the front wall of the bag. The front bag Walladheres to the adhesive 26 in holes 22 in the manner described above,:thus providing an easily opened and re-sealed plastic bag.

While only two-wall bags have been shown in the illustrated embodiments,it is to be understood that sidewalls may be added t-o the bagstructures without departing from the teachings ofthe present invention.In addition, it should be understood that various different flexibleplastic materials can be used in containers of the present invention,including cellophane, paper and other traditional bag materials, as wellas polyethylene and other modern materials.

The above description of the invention is intended to be illustrativeand not limiting. Various changes or mod-ilications in the embodimentsdescribed may occur to those skilled in the art and these can be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invent-ion as setforth in the claim.

Patented-June 21, 1966 t i I claim:

A reclosable bag of exible plastic material, said bag having twoopposing walls defining a bag opening, a projecting ap portion on one ofsaid walls at said bag opening, said ap having at least one gap near itsoutermost edge and a strip of pressure-sensitive adhesive on said apinwardly from said gap, said flap being folded over upon itself withsaid gap overlying'said adhesive strip and with the bag materialadjacent said gap adherent to said strip, said folded-over ap beingfoldable over the other of said walls so that said other wall adherestothe adhesive left uncovered by said gap and eects the closing of saidbag opening.

References Cited by'the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,079,066 2/1963Roop i.-- 229-62 1/1937 swift s 229-80'

